Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but the story idea.

A/N:  Chapter One for full premise.  To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed.  In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer.  This is still not beta'ed to be gentle.  I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this.  Reviews are always welcome, no matter how short or long.  Also, I don't have a lot of experience with eight-year-olds, so I'm basing Jessie on my own memories and what I've seen from kids about that age.  If you have any suggestions, or you think she's not acting the way an eight-year-old would act, please tell me.

June:  Arriving and Adjusting

Chapter Two

~~

Jessie sat on her stool at the end of the counter sipping her coke and watching the busy diner.  Luke was all over the place, taking orders, delivering food, and busing tables.  At five, the bell on the door sounded and a small Asian girl came in.  The girl crossed the small space, called a hello to Luke and headed behind the counter and through the swinging doors.  When she re-emerged, she was wearing an apron and she had an order pad in her hand.

"Lane," Luke said as he approached her.  "I want you to meet someone."  He led the girl over to where Jessie sat with her coke and said, "This is my niece, Jessie.  She's going to be staying with me for a little while.  Jessie, this is Lane.  She works here."

"Nice to meet you, Jessie," said Lane with a smile.  She held out her hand and Jessie shook it and looked bashful.  She wasn't used to being introduced to anyone let alone shaking hands.

"Nice to meet you, too," she replied.

"The rules are that Jess can have anything she wants as long as it's healthy," Luke instructed.

"Got it," replied Lane with a firm nod.

"Or cake," added Jessie with an enthusiastic nod of her own and a silly smile.

"Nice try," Luke said with a roll of his eyes.  "No cake.  No pie.  No ice cream.  No candy."

"What is this Soviet Russia?" came a voice from behind Luke's back.

Luke and Lane turned, allowing for Jessie to take in the view of a woman.  She was tall with dark hair and blue eyes.  How Jessie had always wanted blue eyes.  Instead she was stuck with brown.  Plain old brown.  She sighed. 

"Lorelai.  Just in time. I'd like you to meet Jessie," Luke said as he held up a hand and gestured to the little figure perched on her stool.  Lorelai took in the overalls, plaid shirt still knotted about her waist, and backwards baseball cap before turning to Luke and declaring, "Kirk was right, you do have a clone."

Luke ignored her and said, "Jessie, this is Lorelai.  She comes in a lot for coffee.  Lorelai, this is Jessie.  She's going to be staying here for the summer."

"It's nice to meet you, Jessie," said Lorelai as she approached the counter and sat beside her.  Lane left to begin work and Luke walked around the counter to pour Lorelai some coffee.

"How do you like it so far?"

"She says it's boring," complained Luke teasingly.

"Well, compared to New York, Stars Hollow must seem pretty slow-paced," reasoned Lorelai.

Jessie nodded and asked, "Where do you live?"

"Me?  I live in my house."

"Are you married?" Her tone suggested that she was trying for breezy sophistication, like the ladies in the soap operas her mother watched.

"Uh, nope.  Not married," answered Lorelai with a smile.

"Jess," warned Luke.

"Boyfriend?" Jessie interrogated.

"Not at the moment," dodged Lorelai.

"Okay," Jessie relented and took a sip of her coke.

Lorelai chuckled and Luke shook his head.  "What can I get you?"

Lorelai pretended to think about it and then answered, "I'll have a piece of that chocolate cake there, a slice of cherry pie and a slice of apple, both a la mode, and you wouldn't happen to have any candy behind the counter would you?"

Luke glared daggers at her.  "Lorelai," he began.

"Chop, chop," she ordered.  Jessie giggled as Luke left to prepare Lorelai's order.

"I think you'll like it here.  It's not has hot and humid as New York in the summer, there's lots to do and Luke's a good guy."

Jessie just nodded and took another sip of her coke.

Luke returned with her order and as soon as he walked away, Lorelai pushed the plates toward Jessie and said, "You wanna share this with me?"

"Yeah!" Jessie answered with a grin.

They each took huge forkfuls and giggled at trying to chew it all.  Jessie had never met a grown up quite like Lorelai before. 

"So," said Lorelai seriously, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"That's easy," replied Jessie, who'd been imagining her grown up life for as long as she could remember.  "Either a ballerina," Lorelai nodded and interjected, "Always a good choice."

"Or a cowboy," Jessie finished.

"A ballerina or a cowboy?" Lorelai blinked.

"Yup," Jessie nodded decisively, shoveling another forkful of pie and ice cream into her mouth.

"I don't think you could have chosen two more diametrically opposed career options," Lorelai noted with a furrowed brow.

"Dia-what?"  Jessie asked impatiently.

"Nothing," said Lorelai, shrugging it off.  "So, ballerina or cowboy."

Jessie nodded.

"Do you ride?"

"Nah," Jessie shook her head glumly.  "No horses in the city."

"My inn has horses, so you can always give it a try if you want."

"Really?" her eyes swelled with delight.  "You mean it?"

"Sure," replied Lorelai with a wave of her hand.  "And there's a dance studio in town, too.  You could probably take ballet lessons if you wanted."

"Wow," breathed Jessie, for the first time fully understanding what this trip could mean.  A chance to try new things. 

Luke arrived in time to hear this last bit and see Jessie eat the last bite of apple pie.

"Wow what and what are you doing?" he demanded.

Lorelai had the grace to look guilty.  "Jessie was just telling me about some of her career goals," she answered with faux innocence.

"You fed her pie," he accused.

"She…tricked me!" Lorelai sputtered.  "She used her Jedi mind tricks!  I'm no match for her!"

Jessie interrupted earnestly, "She has horses! And there's ballet here, did you know that?  Maybe I could take lessons!"

"What have you done to me?" Luke deadpanned to Lorelai.

~~

By about nine o'clock, the crowd had dissipated and Luke walked through the swing doors to Jessie's spot at the counter and said, "Okay, kiddo, let's get you upstairs."

"Why?" she asked, baffled.

"It's nine o'clock, that's why.  Bedtime," he explained patiently.

"My bedtime isn't for hours," Jessie argued.

"Maybe in New York it's not for hours, but in Connecticut, you have to keep the hours that an eight-year-old would keep.  Now, come on," he ordered, lifting her off the stool and nudging her toward the stairs. 

"But why do I have to go now?" she whined.  "Why can't I have another half an hour?"

"Because in another half and hour," Luke mimicked, "it'll be nine thirty and when I was eight my bedtime was nine."

"This sucks," she huffed up the stairs.

"Hey, language," he admonished.

"I don't care!  You're not the boss of me!  No one is the boss of me," she sassed.

They entered the apartment and Luke shook his head as he replied, "As long as you live here I am the boss of you.  That's what being the adult is all about."

Jessie crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Humph."

Caesar and Lane were closing downstairs and Luke was glad.  This was clearly going to take longer than he'd anticipated.

"All right look," he said, "how 'bout this.  You get ready for bed now, and I let you watch TV for a half hour.  Does that sound fair?"

Jessie made a show of putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head so that she could gaze at the ceiling as if considering his offer.  "Fine," she finally said before turning to go into her closet of a bedroom. 

Out in the living room, Luke couldn't believe he was already making concessions.  His father would never have considered giving him another half an hour.  Bedtime was bedtime, end of story.  But, he reasoned, she'd had a hard day.  Her mother had sent her packing for three months and didn't even tell her.  She needed a little TLC right now. 

She opened her door and emerged wearing pink and yellow plaid flannel pajama pants with a matching pink cotton long-sleeved pajama top.  Her hat was gone, but her hair was still back in a ponytail and was matted down from dirt and travel.  In her hand she carried a Tinkerbell toothbrush. 

"Bathroom's…" he trailed off pointing her in the direction.  She didn't answer, just closed the door behind her.

When she was done in the bathroom and she'd put her toothbrush in the holder on the sink next to his, she turned the light off and came back out into the living room area.  They stood across from each other and again, an awkward silence stretched. 

"You said I could watch TV," she reminded him a little timidly, feeling a little silly in her pink pajamas.

"Right," he said, catching himself.  "Sorry.  Come on."  Luke led her to the couch where they sat at opposite ends.  He propped his feet up on the coffee table and she curled up with her feet underneath her.  He pulled the afghan down from the back and draped it over her, then handed her the remote.  "Go for it."

Jessie took it eagerly and started flipping.  After a minute she found the Cartoon Network and was immediately consumed with Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles.

"Yay," she said as she clapped her hands together softly. "Don't you just love the Powerpuff Girls?"

"Oh, yeah, they're great," he answered easily, having no idea who Jessie was referring to.

"Why don't you have a girlfriend?"  The way she shifted from one topic to another was jarring.

Luke tried to avoid her gaze.  "I dunno, I just don't."

"Don't you like anyone?"  She shifted down so that her head was resting against the arm of the couch.

Shrugging and feeling completely self-conscious, he answered simply, "No."

Jessie stared at him hard.  "Really?  Not anyone?" she pressed.

"Nope," he said firmly, hoping she believed him.

"I used to like this boy at school.  His name was Mark.  But he liked my friend," she confided.

"Sorry," Luke answered, hoping it was the appropriate response.

"That's okay.  Mommy has lots of boyfriends."

"Oh, yeah?"  This wasn't news, but it also wasn't something he felt like discussing with an eight-year-old.

"Yeah.  I think that's why I'm here.  Jerry didn't like me being around."  She said it so matter-of-factly that Luke had trouble keeping his tone light when he responded,  "That's her boyfriend?  Jerry?" 

"Yeah," she answered, one eye on the crime-fighting trio.  Luke studied her profile as she said, "I heard them talking."

"What about?"

"About my dad and why couldn't he take me for a while.  Did you know my dad?"  With this last question, she turned her eyes back to his.

"Yeah."  It wasn't a lie.

"Do you know where he is?"

"No," Luke said softly.

Jessie went back to staring at the TV.  "Me either.  The Powerpuff Girls are tough and you gotta be tough.  Jerry says that women who try to be tough are bitches," she said it as if she were reciting something she'd heard someone say many times.  He didn't doubt that she probably had.

"I think that word should be reserved for extreme cases," he said, trying to keep control of his anger.

"Jerry uses it a lot.  He says most women are bitches who are out to get men and money.  Do you think that?" she asked with a scrutinizing look.

"No," he said decisively.

Less than thirty minutes later, Luke looked over and saw that she was asleep.  After clicking the TV off, he got up and carried her into her room.  Tucked into bed the way she was, Jessie looked very calm and peaceful, almost angelic.  Really, he thought, this might not be so bad at all.  She was a good kid.

~~

Sometime in the middle of the night, Luke awoke to a gentle poking at his shoulder.  He reluctantly opened an eye and in the dim moonlight saw a pale face framed by a dark cloud of tangled hair.

"What's wrong," he asked groggily.

"It's scary in my room," she whispered with wide eyes.  "Can I sleep with you?"

"Your room's not scary," Luke argued wearily.  "There isn't even a closet for the boogie man to hide in."

Her eyes widened even more as she physically flinched at his words.  "Please," she begged softly.  "I don't like it."

"Okay, fine," he said in defeat, sliding over and pulling the covers back.

Jessie bounded into the bed and pulled the quilt up to her ears.  "Thank you," she whispered.  A few minutes later, Luke heard her breathing turn deep and soft.  She was asleep.  Feeling cramped, he decided maybe he should finally get that big bed Lorelai had been teasing him about.  Lord knows if there were going to be more nights like this in his future he'd need it.

~~

The next morning started like any other.  Luke's alarm clock rang at ten to five and he rolled out of bed still half-asleep.  Jessie was lying curled into a tight ball.  After making sure that she was still asleep, he stumbled toward the bathroom.

Re-emerging after a shower, he walked to his dresser wearing the bathrobe that had been hanging on the back of the bathroom door for years.  He finally had a reason to use it.

Gathering up clothes for the day, he headed back to the bathroom to change.  When he came out a second time he was finally feeling awake.  Finishing with the buttons of his flannel shirt, he added his blue backwards baseball cap, and grabbed a piece of scratch paper.  On it he wrote:  "Jess, I put out a fresh towel in the bathroom for you.  Help yourself to the shower, etc.  Come downstairs for breakfast when you're up.  Luke."

Confident that she'd be fine, he tucked the blankets more securely around her and left the apartment. 

Less than an hour later, just as the morning rush was beginning, Luke heard the door upstairs slam and then a sharp scream.  Throwing the armload of plates onto the counter, he raced upstairs to find Jessie standing in the middle of the hallway still in her pink pajamas.  She stopped screaming when she saw him, but the tears were just beginning to roll.

"What the matter?" Luke asked, a catch in his voice.  He bent down and took one slight shoulder in each hand.

"You were gone!" she accused with a sob.

"I was downstairs," he said reasonably.  "Did you get the note?"

"No!" she reproached.  "I woke up and you were gone!"

Kneeling down, Luke pulled her into a gruff hug.  She gripped his neck tight until he pulled back and said, "It's fine, okay?  I'm downstairs working."  Rubbing her back, he stood up and led her into the apartment.  At the table he showed her the note.  "See?  I didn't want to wake you up."

She was starting to breathe normally again, and feeling a little sheepish.  Nodding she said, "Oh."

"Go get dressed and come down for breakfast," Luke said with one last pat of her back.

Nodding and finally calm, Jessie agreed.  "Okay.  Sorry."

"That's okay," he said.  Then, with his hand on the doorknob he looked at her firmly and said,  "I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay," she said again with a small smile.